


To The Future

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), References to Depression, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22463173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: Loki didn’t die on the Statesman. He and Brunnhilde fought in Wakanda but when Thanos snapped his fingers, Loki was taken. In 2023, after Thanos has been defeated and Loki returned, he seeks out his Valkyrie in New Asgard. Finding her weak, drunk and injured, Loki helps to clean her wounds and bring her back from the edge of despair.
Relationships: Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Loki (Marvel)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	To The Future

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Howlingdawn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Howlingdawn/gifts).



Once Thanos was defeated, New Asgard was ablaze with celebrations. Warriors who had been unable to save their home during Ragnarok and then lost half their ranks soon after on the Statesmen paraded through the village, swords raised high in the air for the glorious battle that had passed. They partied with vigour, able for the first time in years to capture the tradition and normality of their life before. Songs were dedicated to the Norns, tunelessly belted out to aid the fallen on their way to Valhalla. It was quite something to behold. 

However, Loki had never been one for parties. Neither before Thanos nor after. He roamed the cobbled streets, turning away from the bright celebratory fires and was untempted by the feasts that lined the streets. The scent of roast boar and ale turned his stomach. Not wanting to appear entirely rude, the prince did grab a bread roll as he passed the table but even that turned to ash in his mouth. 

_Dust in his throat, clogging his airway as he struggled to breathe. Every cell in his body was decaying, faster than his seidr could heal. His nerves screamed out in pain, fire spreading through his chest as he was torn apart piece by piece. He fell to his knees, praying for the pain to cease. There was no kindness in this, though._

Loki dropped the roll and walked on without turning back. He couldn’t know for certain if this was the right direction but he’d always had a knack for finding his way. The rowdy songs of the party drew distant as he approached the small stone cottage on the outskirts of their new realm. At first glance, it appeared the same as every other building in this forsaken village but a closer inspection revealed the truth. 

Moss grew between the bricks, coating the house in a thick, slimy armour. The roof was weathered by frequent seastorms; the tiles were cracked and knocked out of alignment. The windows were so dirty that they didn’t even reflect the bright light of the moon. Perhaps the owner was too busy to fix it. Perhaps they simply didn’t care. 

He knocked on the door, unsurprised to be met with silence. The lights were off, the curtains were drawn. The owner of this house did not want to be seen. They wanted to hide away from the world. Loki couldn’t stand by and allow that, though. He knew she was there, would always know where to find her. The dark shadow that hung over her head called to him no matter how far apart they were. 

The door was unlocked so he stepped inside, shivering at the cold. He followed the sound of ragged breathing into the living room to where Brunnhilde was propped up against the sofa, surrounded by a sea of empty bottles. Her armour, torn and bloody, was discarded over the arm, revealing the mess of cuts and bruises that littered her skin. 

“Thought you died.”

“Doesn’t tend to stick,” Loki said. He crouched beside the fire, setting it alight. Behind him, the fierce warrior hissed at the sudden brightness, covering her eyes haphazardly with a bleeding arm. Met with a few sharp curses, the prince muttered, “I don’t like the cold. Reminds me of falling.”

The Valkyrie didn’t argue after that, for which the prince was eternally grateful. Those were memories upon which he did not wish to dwell. 

In the light, Loki was able to see the true extend on Brunnhilde’s injuries. 

_Her fierce facade, as thick as the armour she wore to protect her body, shattered. She ran towards him, hands slipping through the dust. Too late. She was too late. The last thing Loki saw was her pained scream, the desperate sound tearing through his soul as the world faded away and tore them apart forever._

“Stupid,” Loki said, studying the damage. She was lucky to still be alive. “Reckless.”

He tore a stretch of fabric from her cape and drenched it in vodka. Naturally, Brunnhilde lamented the loss of the alcohol more than the destruction of her ceremonial armour. Loki crouched down beside her and dabbed the cloth over her skin, cleaning the wounds as best he could. 

“You could have died.”

“So what? You did.”

“Will you never forgive me for that?” he asked lightly. There hadn’t been the opportunity to talk over what had happened. The last Loki recalled, they were in Wakanda fighting Thanos. The next thing he knew, the wannabe sorcerer Strange appeared with a wild tale that five years had passed and they had to fight Thanos once again. 

Where Loki had apparently taken the short path, he knew that his brave Valkyrie had suffered the long one. Whatever she and the others had faced these past years had taken a toll. There was much to discuss but he knew now was not the time. Perhaps it would never be the time. 

Brushing a strand of sticky hair from the wound on her cheek, Loki said, “What matters is that I came back.”

“Maybe I would have too,” Brunnhilde countered weakly. 

“You would have risen straight to the Golden Halls. A sight I shall never see." 

The thought was meant to have been a private one. Brunnhilde’s expression softened and she lifted her hand to touch his face. However, coordination was not on her side after so many litres of Asgardian spirits and her hand instead landed on Loki’s shoulder. She gave a gentle squeeze, truly believing what she said. "You too are worthy of a place at the table, Loki.”

“Only time will tell. Sit up.” Loki lifted her shirt over her head, a slow difficult process as the bloody fabric stuck to her wounds. It revealed even more wounds but only one was still actually weeping. He held his hand above the gash and pushed his seidr into her body, guiding his magic to pull her flesh back together. Only then, though, did Loki realise just how damaged her body truly was. 

The Valkyrie had torn all the ligaments in her shoulder from taking on the Leviathans alone. She was suffering from extensive internal bleeding and had six broken ribs, which in turn had punctured a lung. And, in shielding the spider child from an attack, Brunnhilde had shattered one of her vertebrae. She was, by Loki’s calculations, lucky to walk away from the battle at all. 

Loki shook his head, adjusting his position to pull her into an embrace. He extended his seidr around her, allowing his magic to flow through her veins and dull the pain as it slowly healed her body. She would have recovered on her own, eventually, but Loki couldn’t bear to see her suffer a moment longer. She’d been through enough as it was. They all had. 

The pair sat in silence, watching the fire flicker, safe in the comfort of each other. 

_Surrounded by an orange light, a swirling never ending mist of… Loki didn’t know. He had a vague sense of being alive, of existing somewhere between the worlds. Bodiless, alone with nothing but a memory, a distant recollection of a face. A beautiful woman. The one he loved. She loved him too. They’d never said but something about this place made him certain. He knew, deep down in his soul, that she loved him._

“I hated you.”

It was not the most traditional response to someone tending your wounds but Loki understood. He’d sworn to be there, to never leave her to face the darkness alone. But he had. He’d broken his word like he always did. “As if I’d let such a thing keep me away.”

“I missed you so much.” Brunnhilde turned her face into his chest, hiding her vulnerability. It was a confession she’d only ever make after copious amounts of alcohol. “Every day, I wished that Thanos had snapped me away too. It would have been kinder.”

Loki stroked her arm soothingly, noting the improvement his seidr had already made to her wounds. She didn’t flinch beneath his touch, leaning into him instead. “The universe is far from kind.”

“The universe is beautiful,” she countered. “Life is unkind. Your brother is leaving tomorrow.”

“So I heard. It’s for the best.” For once, Loki meant it. He had sought out his brother earlier and they’d discussed a lot of things, in a way that they hadn’t for centuries. From that one conversation, it became clear to Loki that this was not the life for Thor. He needed to be out in the stars, free to find his place and move on. “He’s leaving this place in capable hands.”

Brunnhilde choked back a sob. “I can’t do this. I’m not - I’m a soldier! I can’t run Asgard alone.”

“You’re far more than a soldier. And you aren’t alone anymore. I’m here now.”

“Some help you’ll be,” she said, the desperate attempt at humour cracking her voice even further. 

Loki hummed, half wondering if it were true. “If your highness prefers, I can leave with Thor in the morning.”

“Don’t." 

Uncertain whether that was a call not to leave or not address her as the queen, Loki simply pulled her closer to his chest and sighed. "I won’t. We’ll be okay. We will.”

“How can you know that?”

“I can’t but one can only hope.”

Brunnhilde laughed, a fragile sound but brimming with emotion. Her hand found his, squeezing tightly as if to hold this moment in place forever. “You’re going soft.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

She smiled shakily. “Tonight? No, I don’t think it is.” Skillfully reaching for a bottle without needing to look, Brunnhilde held up her drink and muttered, “To the future and whatever shit it brings.”

Loki clinked an empty bottle against hers then pressed a kiss to his brave warrior’s temple as she downed what liquor remained. “To the future.”


End file.
